When I was in school Black History was taught in the month of February, and usually, it was usually one or two exercises and we were done. I recently shared with my husband that I felt I was Bamboozled into thinking I had learned real American History, but there was so much that was left out and so much I just didn’t learn!
As I look at my children and they’ve seen so much this last year, I know how important it is to not only learn our history year-round but to also make sure what our children aren’t getting in school we are providing them with it at home! Now I truly understand why there were so many reference books, flashcards, encyclopedias in my house growing up! Prior to the computer age if you had to do any kind of report you could find your resources right in our house! You could go to the library if you wanted to but it wasn’t mandatory!
For younger children, it’s all about making it fun for them! If you have children that love to read, find the books from Black Authors also have them listen to books read by Black Authors (we did a lot of that last month…the kids really enjoyed Netflix Jr on YouTube showcasing Black Authors), if you have children that love to draw, create projects centered around prominent Black people from our history.
Black History Inventors Booklets
My children are still in the booklet-making phases, they make them in school for different things and they will make them at home for different topics! This is why I know they will love to create a mini booklet about Black Inventors.
BLACK HISTORY SHOULD BE TAUGHT YEAR ROUND!!
Although this exercise can be printed out, don’t be afraid to make your children do a little work! Have them complete these booklets then have them create their own! There are so many stories of Black people who have invented different things or done great things in our history. Have them make a booklet out of paper and draw the person and write a sentence or two about that person!
We own the books from Vashti Harrison, and they could use those books as references to create their own booklets! And an inspiration for their picture!
What I have also learned is how much being able to color someone like what they look like matters! When I purchased the Crayola Markers for my children I saw their faces light up because they can actually color a person their actual skin tone color versus everyone being one shade of brown, peach, or black!
If you would like to create a Black History Booklet with your child please click here to print it out!
Remember we must keep our children learning about our history!!! Because if we don’t share our stories, they won’t get told! I feel horrible telling someone at 36 that I didn’t learn about particular events when I was younger! But I’m working towards changing that now!
